John Prine with Conor Oberst
The Orpheum
Ticketomaha.com
John Prine’s always been known to call out inept politicians and patriotic hypocrisy, dating back to his 1971 debut album, which featured tracks rejecting the Vietnam War. He does the same on his 2018 LP, “The Tree of Forgiveness,” with the Trump-and-modern-government-shaming “Caravan of Fools.” But similarly to how Trump puts it, Prine just calls it like he sees it. On Forgiveness, Prine’s tongue-in-cheek humor is still ever-present — kicking the album off with “If you see somebody, would you send em’ over my way?/I could use some help here with a can of pork and beans” on “Knockin’ On Your Screen Door.” At 72, he’s naturally thinking about his mortality, too, but instead of fearing death and leaving Earth behind, he idealizes the prospects of meeting his relatives who have passed and smoking a cigarette that’s nine miles long. He seems satisfied with his accomplishments, and he’s taking a victory lap. He plays The Orpheum this month. Oh, and Omaha’s native son, Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst, opens the show. Tickets start at $63.75.